COPD and comorbidities in the Republic of Moldova

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and the majority of patients have at least one comorbid condition of clinical significance. Therefore, we studied its prevalence and implication based on experience from the Republic of Moldova. METHODS: The study was a prospective cohort study that included 435 patients with COPD from 2015 to 2017. RESULTS: We found heart failure in 38.62% of the patients, hypertension in 50.11%, coronary artery disease in 23.45%, diabetes mellitus in 10.11%, renal failure in 1.15%, rheumatoid arthritis in 3.22%, depression in 4.83%, cognitive impairment in 4.37%, obesity in 29.89%, and cachexia in 3.22%. Only 24.65% of patients did not have comorbidities. One comorbidity was found in 23.73%, two in 24.19%, three or more in 27.42%. The Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) had a medium negative correlation with the 6-minute walking test (r=–0.37, p